Search Forum

Will the real Shalimar please Stand Up?

Will the real Shalimar please Stand Up? 8 years ago
In my quest to discover the authentic Shalimar, I've found the following. Are they authentic? They are not all in our database. Confusing. I'd be glad for any insight.

Shalimar parfum (says so on bottle)
Shalimar Extrait (says so on box)
Shalimar EdT (says so on bottle and box)
Shalimar EdP (says so on bottle and box)

and on it's way:

Shalimar EdC (says so on box)
In Search of Shalimar 8 years ago
Shalimar has perplexed me since I became a perfumista. How was it I didn't like the fragrance most treasured by the perfume community? Did I have a bad bottle? Was my nose in need of calibration? Slowly I collected Shalimar in its several versions, with the intent of answering this question for myself once and for all.

Here are the results, clockwise from center: a 1950's Nip; two vintage EdC's, the large one watered, I fear; a vintage? Extrait; a current EdP; a current Eau de Shalimar; a current EdC; a current EdT.



Certainly, somewhere in here is the real Shalimar beloved by so many. I'm most hopeful about the Nip, having found and bought a large box containing Nips of 31 different perfumes. Air-tight as they are, they preserve scent beautifully.

In the next post, I'll sniff carefully through them, in search of what the garden Shah Jahan reproduced around the Taj Mahal inspired Jacques Guerlain to create. I also have a bottle of Jicky and plan to take a sample, pour vanilla in, and see if Shalimar is the result, as per legend.
8 years ago
First, the notes. Thierry Wasser gave out pyramids to bloggers based on the initial formulas of several Guerlains. He and his assistant, Frédéric Sacone, took them from the original perfumer's handwritten notes. For Shalimar 1925, they are, per monsierguerlain.

Top: Vanilla, Leather, Bergamot, Lemon
Heart: Jasmine, Rose, Vanilla, Orris, Patchouli, Vetiver, Incense, Civet
Base; Vanilla, Tonka bean, Musk

Except for the lemon, these notes I almost always love in a fragrance. However, our database says Shalimar (Extrait) is:

Top: Blossoms, Bergamot
Heart: Isis, Jasmine, Rose
Base: Vanilla, Iris, Opoponax, Tonka bean

A very different fragrance, sans lemon, in particular, as well as others. Now to put my nose's detective hat on, mindful of the history provided by Wasser in the above link.

Extrait - Lemon is the first note. Lemon wrapped in leather, vanilla and bergamot like the Wasser pyramid says. Then comes the glorious heart. I sniff, waiting for the lemon to take a back seat, but it doesn't. What I smell is loads of vanilla, a gorgeous melange of flower, resin, civet, vetiver and wood, and pronounced lemon. Now I see it's the lemon that kept me from falling in love.

EdC - I use the small vintage bottle because it has a darker color and stronger smell than the larger light one. This has much less lemon. Everything's melding beautifully. I could wear this. Maybe this will happen with the extrait as it dries. Checking: Yes, the lemon's calming down and the other fabulous notes are taking center stage, including vanilla. This is becoming a potent beauty. The bigger, lighter EdC bottle's contents smell nothing like the first two, so I guess I've got my hands on a fake.

Interim conclusion: I had a bad first bottle of Shalimar. Now I know what all the fuss is about. This new extrait becomes absolutely haunting as the lemon mutes. The vintage EdC, while lovely from the start, never achieves the extrait's glory. Also, someone wore this in my childhood. My grand aunt, I'm sure. Makes sense. She traveled all over, had Lucien LeLong beaded bags my mother remembers dragging across the rug. I've found the real Shalimar, at last, and the scent of one of the loveliest women from my early years. I remember it now and my mother's Coty de Chypre, which back then I liked more.

In the next post, I'll sniff the remaining versions, then compare to Coty de Chypre to see if I still prefer it.
8 years ago
EdP (current)
The current EdP is galaxies away from the original Extrait. No longer do I smell leather or the civet. The potency and depth are gone. What we're left with is an ordinary floral that only vaguely resembles its fabled ancestor. The lemony top note is more astringent but it fades more quickly. If I'd never smelled the extrait, I'd say this is a pretty fragrance, heavy on vanilla, but not a compelling one. If you want something close to the smell of the real Shalimar, skip this.

EdC (current)
Somehow, this is closer to the extrait. It doesn't seem to be missing so many notes. It has a hint of luxury and while it lasts is more involving than the EdP. Civet definitely appears after a while, just as it does in the extrait.

EdT (current)
Well, this one is more astringent than either of the above and it retains that astringency until well into the drydown when it does begin to resemble the extrait. It lasts longer and is prettier than the EdC after a while.

Eau de Shalimar
This is a flanker with different notes. The citrus top is greener and has orange. The rest is simple florals with a good does of vanilla. It's a nice enough perfume but with no woods, resins, or animalics, not anywhere as compelling as the original Shalimar.

Nip
This non-deteriorated tiny sample may be the best or certainly the second best rendition of Shalimar I have. I can detect many (not leather) of the original notes but they are so smoothly blended. This is a haunting, sniff-yourself-unconscious Shalimar. Okay, it's not as compelling as the extrait ... but far moreso than the above. Makes me want to go find all the Nips.

Conclusion
The original Shalimar is amazing, but its power may be due to ageing, in part. Certainly it has ingredients not available to perfumers today in the same concentrations. It could be that the 1950's Nip is the best representation of Shalimar's original smell. Wish I had a current extrait to test. I found the parfum on the Saks Fifth Ave site and it lists Iris and amber, which weren't in the original, so I'm not optimistic. Barring that, I think the EdT (drydown) is the best Shalimar available (the EdC beats it early on, but fades). Gotta test the parfum.
8 years ago
Back with the parfum on the back of one hand and the vintage extrait on the other...

Parfum
A more or less lovely facsimile of the original.

Extrait
THIS is Shalimar. The depth, the full mesmerizing allure can't be found in any other version. There's no comparison. They're all "pretty" to one degree or another and they all simulate Shalimar's olfactory envelope, so to speak, but the only one that truly expresses Shah Janan's deathless love in scent is the extrait.

NIP
Just a mention that the Shalimar Nip is better than the parfum IMO. I've searched for more, but I have a feeling I may have the last one on planet earth.

Well, it took some effort, but the real Shalimar stood up. In the extrait I can smell all that's in the Thierry Wasser pyramid of the original Shalimar notes. In the others I smell Iris, Vanilla and Opoponax, mostly. Also Tonka.

Next is to find out if Shalimar is Jicky with vanilla. My guess is yes because a mere whiff of Jicky yields most of the dazzling complexity in the Wasser Shalimar pyramid.
8 years ago
Does Jicky + Vanilla = Shalimar?

I started the experiment only to discover I have no vanilla in my perfumery notes collection! So downstairs to the kitchen I went and...you guessed it. I do not advise this procedure. Food flavorings don't hold their own when mixed with perfume. So I'm ordering a proper perfumer's vanilla. However, In the brief seconds before the vanilla extract surrendered, I absolutely do think I smelled Shalimar. Since Jicky actually contains most of the notes Shalimar once had, I'm excited to see if I can create my own authentic-smelling Shalimar, since today's versions aren't.
8 years ago
Didn't work. Ended up with a creamy muddle. The modern Jicky smells very close to the Shalimar extrait, though.

ScentFan:
Does Jicky + Vanilla = Shalimar?

I started the experiment only to discover I have no vanilla in my perfumery notes collection! So downstairs to the kitchen I went and...you guessed it. I do not advise this procedure. Food flavorings don't hold their own when mixed with perfume. So I'm ordering a proper perfumer's vanilla. However, In the brief seconds before the vanilla extract surrendered, I absolutely do think I smelled Shalimar. Since Jicky actually contains most of the notes Shalimar once had, I'm excited to see if I can create my own authentic-smelling Shalimar, since today's versions aren't.
8 years ago
Gurelain products are just great Quality . most the orginal contain oakmoss which was banned after 2104 would love a update on you experiment
Notify about new comments
Display posts from previous:
Forum Overview Perfumes & Brands Will the real Shalimar please Stand Up?
Jump to